What they were thinking: Catching a home run

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Darnell McDonald, then playing right field for the Red Sox and now in town this weekend as a member of the Yankees, nearly tumbles into the Blue Jays bullpen after robbing Kelly Johnson of a home run in the ninth inning on June 27, 2012.

Who’s up today: Darnell McDonald, then playing right field for the Red Sox and now in town this weekend as a member of the Yankees, nearly tumbles into the Blue Jays bullpen after robbing Kelly Johnson of a home run in the ninth inning at Fenway Park, June 27, 2012.

McDonald: “Your first thought is to get back there to the wall. From there, I’m trying to judge my proximity to the wall and where I think the ball is going to land. I just jumped up as high as I could and you know, I was able to come down with it. A lot of times you get too close to the wall where you can’t jump, so fortunately I wasn’t that close where I could kind of catapult myself up in the air. But once I hit the wall, yeah, I definitely thought I was going over. It’s funny, you look at all the fans, different emotions on everyone’s faces, and you realize it was a great moment for myself at Fenway Park. I had botched a play before that, so when that ball came out I was going to get that ball and redeem myself no matter what. I’m honored to have put on that uniform and have that be the way I went out. It feels good.”